Bose Companion 5 review

The Bose Companion 5 is a set of speakers designed specifically to be connected to a Mac or PC.

There are only two inputs - a 3.5mm jack for analogue audio and USB - there's no way to connect it to the standard coaxial or optical sockets you find on most modern equipment. So even if your Mac has a digital output for audio, you still have to tie up a USB port. There's a desktop controller that allows you to adjust the volume and connect headphones. This is also where you find the 3.5mm input for an iPod. What's more, if you tap the top of the controller, it mutes the audio. It's a nice touch and we used it much more than we thought we would.

The satellite speakers look straight out of the late 1990s, but they're not overstated and blend in quite nicely. The stands are reassuringly heavy and the whole setup is clearly well constructed. The sub woofer is the standard oblong box of mystery that adds all the power and handles processing. It being Bose, the name subwoofer is eschewed in favour of the rather contrived moniker Acoustimass. This is the unit that helps turn this standard audio setup into the faux 5.1 surround sound it's supposed to offer.

With the best will in the world it's hard to feel much of a surround sound experience from the Companion 5 speakers. It's there if you set up the speakers exactly as described in the manual and don't move but really it's a poor second to actually having some speakers behind you.

Otherwise, the quality of the audio from music, games and movies is very good. Even at higher volumes, the small speakers are punchy and impressive, and the audio is spectacular. We can't help thinking Bose would be better off dropping the claims about surround sound capabilities, and simply market the Companion 5 as a very high quality speaker system for the office.

The Bose Companion 5 is expensive for what it offers and the scarcity of inputs only highlights this. However, there's no denying that the audio quality is good.